bookstore gig

I’ll play at Diesel bookstore in Oakland on Friday night, April 12. Start time 7pm, set length 60 minutes, maybe 90 if I feel long winded.

5433 College Ave Oakland, California 94618-1502. A short walk from Rockridge BART.

My plan is to do more moodier, quieter, smarter pieces. Lots of instrumentals. Notes flying willy nilly. This is a solo show, I think. Unless I change my mind.

Diesel has a nice feel to it. I love bookstores.

Homestyle Mandolin MP3

A couple years ago I posted a set of 11 short mandolin improvisations titled “homestyle mandolin sample pack
They were targeted at remixers and video makers, not plain old listeners, so I put them in AIFF format, which is unfriendly for ordinary listening.

Since then one of the 11, #17, has become far and away the most popular. It has 1551 plays on Freesound, more than double the next most popular and about 15X more than the other nine. It has been used in about five videos; none of the others have been used AFAIK. It clearly deserves to be an MP3 for ordinary listening and to be accessible apart from the pack.

This one is the only one that in the future won’t have a number. It’s new name is simply “Homestyle Mandolin.”

fairbanksmando


Lucas Gonze – Homestyle Mandolin (0:35 MP3)

Drawing a crowd

There was a point in my musical life where I decided that I’m committed, with no holds barred. Not long after that I stopped taking bookings where I was supposed to draw an audience.

Drawing an audience is a big distraction from playing. If I have time to spend on preparing for a gig, I want it to benefit people’s ears – things like practicing, working on the set list, improving my equipment. Quality is hyperefficient. I have limited resources. The music is the best place to invest them..

Also, drawing a crowd is a con game. Making It In The Music Business is not what I’m about. As much respect as I have for people who make this game work, they are vastly outnumbered by people getting fleeced.

So I direct my attention to pre-existing crowds in need of music. Parties, for example. Problem solved. But then there’s a new problem – the music isn’t what they’re there for.

So last night I happened to play a gig for an audience which was there for other reason than to listen, and it was awesome. A quiet room. Comfortable seats. Ability to follow the phrases back and forth. I felt like they were disappointed when the big dumb songs arrived instead of relieved that the pointy headed stuff was finally over.

Maybe I can find a way to achieve both goals.

Jan 17 show

The show I’m doing on Jan 17 is just solo Me in a quiet room with no distractions for 1 1/2 hours. I’m looking forward to doing the many thoughtful tunes I never get to play because they’re not right for happy-go-lucky drinkers.

TheJointFlyer